My Guard Dog

When I was pregnant we were wondering how Havoc would react to the baby.  We watched him play with my niece, who was only crawling, and he did really well, but she wasn't going to be living with us.  We also wanted Havoc to feel like he was still part of the family and not left out so when we brought Ryder home we let Havoc check him out.  He was really curious and sniffing then didn't seem to care.  That is until Ryder started to cry.  The first time Ryder really started to cry Havoc tried to get between me and the baby and was trying to lick him and comfort him.  He grabbed his shirt and tried to drag him away and comfort him.  For the first couple of days he thought he needed to comfort the baby any time he cried.  Luckily he has calmed down a little and no longer feels the need to comfort him when he is crying.  But he has become very protective, its actually pretty cool.  I noticed it the first time when I had Ryder laying on the floor and I had to run downstairs to get something from the dryer.  This is what I came back upstairs to.

Whenever I leave the room with the baby Havoc is right there with me or if I leave the baby in the room he will wait in the room by the baby until I come back.  If the baby is in his bassinet in my bedroom and starts to cry Havoc will go in, push the door open and stand on the bed so he can check on the baby.  Usually its not a big deal unless I am trying to put Ryder to bed.  Every time we come home Havoc has to check in the carrier and make sure the baby is there and that we brought the baby home.  If he doesn't know the person very well and they are holding the baby he will sit right there next to them to make sure the baby is ok.  We have also noticed that he is a lot more aggressive when we go for walks with all of us.  We tested it out one night and Ross and Havoc went on their walk and Ryder and I walked the track and met up with them.  Havoc was not aggressive at all when we weren't there but as soon as we met up with them Havoc was aggressive towards any male we passed and all cars.  It will be very interesting to see how things are when Ryder gets bigger.

For Unto Us a Child is Born

I have been meaning to blog about the birth of Ryder but as I have learned very quickly that being a mom, even with just one child, that time is not always what I have and that many things need to be done one handed and the thought of typing out, one handed, Ryder's birth story just seemed insurmountable.  So, now that he is in bed, trying to put himself to sleep, I have a little bit of time.  And just a forwarning, this is a little long and a little wordy, I wanted to remember all this stuff and this is the best way for me to do it.
The story started about a month before he was born.  I was at a doctors appointment and in talking with my doctor he said the baby hadn't dropped yet and he should have a few weeks prior.  There was talk about the baby's head being too big to drop and the alternative would be a c-section.  At this point I was very much against a c-section.  I wanted to do it vaginally, I wanted the experience and the thought of them cutting me open was not on my list of things I wanted to experience.  After the appointment Ross and I went home and talked about it and we asked my dad to help Ross in giving me a blessing.  Before the blessing I told Ross the key points I wanted him to include in the blessing, mainly that the baby will drop and there won't be a need for a c-section.  Now, I know that the blessing doesn't come from the person giving it, that they are just the mouth piece, but I thought if Ross could slip it in there at one point that maybe we could make it work.  In the blessing nothing was said of the baby dropping and nothing was said about how the baby would be born.  What was said was that I would find comfort and peace in what was necessary to have this baby.  Afterwards I reminded Ross that he forgot to include that the baby will drop and I won't have to have a c-section.
Fast forward to Aug 1st.  I had my doctors appointment scheduled for the afternoon so that Ross could make it.  I was at work when the doctor's office called to change my appointment for that morning so I could see the doctor before he left town.  It was 2 days before my due date and my doctor was getting as many patients in to see if they were close enough to be induced before he went on vacation for a week.  I was less than thrilled to hear he was going to be gone for a week around my due date.  I didn't want another doctor to deliver my baby, I trusted my own doctor.  Unfortunately I was not dilated at all and so there was no way to justify inducing me.  I was sent over to Utah Valley to do a non stress test to see what my AFI (amniotic fluid index) was and if it was low enough then they could induce me.  I did the non stress test and unfortunately I had enough fluid that it was not necessary to induce me.  I was scheduled to do non stress tests twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, until I delivered.  I went home rather disappointed and very uncomfortable, I was ready to have the baby already. 

We had a family picnic scheduled that Saturday with my grandma and my aunt and uncle and my brother was in town.  I wanted to be able to go but I was willing to give it up if I could just have my baby.  I was pretty miserable.  I couldn't sleep, couldn't walk, sitting hurt, my knees and feet hurt from all the added weight.  I was done.  Saturday came and nothing had happened and it didn't look like anything was going to.  I was invited to go up to Deer Creek with Jared fishing on his boat and figured I may as well.  As it turned out it was pretty lucrative for me.  I was the only one to catch anything and I got two pretty good sized fish.

I was able to attend the family picnic that evening as well.  It was a lot of fun to hang out with my whole family, its not often all of us are together, and then it was nice to have my grandma and my aunt and uncle there.

On the following Monday when I went in for my non stress test I wasn't expecting anything seeing as the other ones gave nothing.  That and I was holding out for when my doctor got back into the office on Wednesday morning.  Luckily in all the non stress tests the baby was fine, which was the important part.  On Monday the baby was still doing fine, no stress with him.  The only problem was that my blood pressure was getting a little high.  It wasn't out of control but after a doctor looked at it and the fact that I was 5 days over due they decided to send me to the hospital to have the baby, I was borderline toxemia.  When the nurse came back and said "it looks like you are having this baby today" both Ross and I looked at each other and tried to surpress grins.  Its what we were hoping for, except for the vacationing doctor, and on the other side it was a little surreal that we were actually going to have this baby.  Very mixed emotions.  Luckily it gave us a little bit of time to go home and finish packing the bag for the hospital before we went and got admitted, this was around 6 pm.  I was going to be delivering at Orem Community, which is a very small hospital not far from where we live.  I had heard really good things about the hospital and they had a bed in all the maternity rooms for the dads to use. 

I had Ross take one final belly picture before I changed into my hospital gown.

I didn't realize how big I was.  I was only able to see it from the top view and I knew I was big (many people asked if I was having twins) but I didn't realize how big until after I saw this picture.  Up until my last appointment my doctor thought the baby would be around 10 pounds.  After getting changed into a hospital gown we sent out word to family that I was being induced.  I was thinking that since my Doctor was out of town I could pull a fast one one on the doctor on call and he wouldn't know any better and let me deliver vaginally.  All was going according to my plan, the doctor came in and talked to me and then the nurses came and set me up with an IV and cervadil, since I wasn't dialated at all this would get my cervix soft and hopefully get some kind of action.  Let me tell you, it was not fun, it burned in my nether region.  They were going to leave that in for 12 hours before starting the pitosin.  The best thing was they gave me an ambien that night.  That is some amazing stuff.  I don't know that I could have slept without it due to the 2 monitors they had stuck to my stomach, one to measure the baby's heart rate and one to measure contractions.  I still had not felt a contraction at this point, I knew I was having them due the my stomach getting tight, but they never hurt or was uncomfortable.  At 7 the next morning they told me that if I wanted to eat something I better do it now because as soon as they took out the cervidil they would start the pitosin and I wouldn't be able to eat until after the baby was born.  Ross got me a tiny bowl of cereal from the nourishment room and I ate that.  Just as I finished they came in and told me they were going to do an ultra sound to measure the baby's head to make sure he would fit.  I knew my plan was foiled and that they would see that he hadn't dropped and I may not get the birth I wanted.  The ultra sound tech had a hard time measuring his head because it didn't all fit on the screen.  She said that in the 4  years she had been at the hospital she hadn't seen a head that big.  Not even born yet and off the charts.  After the doctor reviewed the numbers from the ultra sound he came in to talk to us.  He told us that due to his head size the best thing would be to do a c-section.  He was very informative and gave us all the information we needed to make a decision.  He told me that since I just ate they would have to wait 8 hours to make sure my stomach was empty, they would schedule the c-section for 3 that afternoon and that I wasn't to eat anything between then.  He told me that in the mean time they could give me pitosin and I could try labor for the next 8 hours but that it was a safe bet that his head wouldn't fit, and if his head did fit out the birth canal then his shoulders wouldn't and at that point they would have to break his shoulders or clavicle to get him out.  He talked to me about the possibility of nerve damage and the risks involved.  When I heard about them having to break bones to get him out my mind was made up.  Its not fair to try to have this baby the way I wanted and then for him to have to go through the pain of broken bones and risks of nerve damage to his shoulders.  That was the point that I made the decision to go with the c-section and I felt peace with that choice.  I remembered back to the blessing Ross and my dad had given me the month before, that I would be comforted with the decision.  The Lord knows what He is doing and what will be best me and as much as I wanted to do it vaginally I knew this was the right choice.  So, Ross and I just hung out for the next 8 hours, watching movies and tv and me trying not to think about how hungry and thirsty I was.  I tried not to watch the clock, but it was moving so slowly and I didn't think 3 would ever get there.  About 15 min before 3 a nurse came in to prep me and the anesthesiologist came in with waivers and disclaimers.  I think the only side effect of the spinal block that had me nervous was that he said I may feel like I can't breathe, but I can. 

The doctor that I had talked to that morning was not on call but said since he was familiar with the situation he would do the c-section, and the doctor on call was really slow.  (I have since heard from a couple people that the doctor on call has messed up a couple c-sections before and it was a very bad experience.)  I have never had any kind of surgery so this was a whole new experience.  They wouldn't let Ross in the OR until they were ready to start the c-section so I didn't have his hand to hold when they put in the spinal block or any of the other really fun things.  They put a numbing something or other in my spine before the spinal block so that wouldn't hurt but the numbing shot was pretty painful.  They told me it felt like a bee sting, then after told me it was more like and atomic bee sting.  But I didn't feel the spinal block go in and it worked pretty fast.  They had me laying on the table while I could still move my legs to help them lay me down.  That had me at an angle on the table, so one hip was higher than the other, until the anesthesiologist noticed that my big belly was starting to pull me off the table and they didn't want me to hit the floor.  After they had me covered and was read to start the incision they brought Ross in.  I almost didn't recognize him with all the coverings he was wearing.  My mom had also come to the hospital that morning, she couldn't sit at work an wait any longer.  It was cool that she was there though, there was a window to the OR that they let her watch through.  Ross didn't want to watch them cut me open so he sat by my head and we just looked at each other and he held my hand.  I was still pretty nervous.  My mom said that she could see them cut into me and saw the blood start.  She was going to turn away, not wanting to see her daughter cut up, but didn't know when she would get to see something like this again.  She got to see the birth of my baby.  At one point I heard the doctor say that the head is so big that he didn't know how they were going to get it out.  They had to do a bigger incision to get the little guy out.   When they had the head out I heard someone say that it was a 10 pound head and as soon as they had the rest of him out they dropped the curtain that was draped across my neck and I got to see my new little baby.  I was trying very hard not to cry and I see this little baby that just came from inside of me.  Its still very miraculous to think about, that I was able to create another human being.  They had the table where they cleaned him off and weighed him on the side of the room that my head was on so I could watch them.  I was just in awe, and trying not to bawl like a baby, that this was my baby and that life will never be the same again.  I couldn't wait to get him in my arms.  As they were cleaning him off and the doctor was cleaning me out and stitching me back together everyone was talking about and waiting to hear how big he was.  We were all expecting around 10 pounds and when they said 11 pounds 5 ounces shock ran through the room.  And, little did we know that there was most of the nurses from maternity ward watching with my mom and as soon as they found out how big he was it spread through the ward like wild fire.  I was pretty shocked that I could carry something that big and was very grateful that I had gone ahead with the c-section.  He turned out to be 23 inches long, born on the 9th of Aug at 3:18 pm.  He was perfectly healthy and had all the right amount of toes and fingers.  Because of his size there was a concern that he would have diabetes and so his blood sugar was tested every 6 hours for the first two days.  Luckily all the numbers came back good.  Having a baby that big everyone thought I had gestational diabetes and was shocked that I didn't. 

Ryder made quite the impression on all the nursing staff.  From the time he was born until the time we left the hospital the nurses all had to see this baby.  After they had stitched me back up and was wheeling me to my room all the nurses stopped to comment to me on the size of the baby.  Nurses would come in and offer to take him for me so I could get some rest, one even said she needed to take him to the nursery to rock him and clear out the bubbles in his stomach.  They all wanted to spend time with him and I found out later that when he was in the nursery the nurses were always holding and rocking him, he never had to sleep in his basinet.  Then when we were leaving the hospital all the nurses were telling us how sad they were that Ryder was going home and we even had one nurse offer to take him off our hands.   Then, the Sunday after he was born they announced in sacrament that two babies had been born, who the parents were and then they announced how big Ryder was.  They didn't say how big the other baby was.  All the women gasped and were talking about the size of Ryder.  We heard from a couple people that we have a famous baby, even before his first time at church.

I was very impressed with this hospital.  All the nurses were amazing and very helpful.  We even got our two favorite nurses twice.  I would recommend this hospital to anyone that has it as an option.  It was great to be able to spend 4 days there and they were very knowledgeable and helpful with teaching me and Ryder how to nurse.  It was much more difficult than I thought it would be. 

Now I am sold on c-sections.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and even though it was pretty painful at times I am ok with it.  I will most likely have to have all my baby's by c-section and now that I know what I am in for I am fine with it.  Either way you give birth there is pain and recovery and I came back pretty fast and was out walking with Ross and the dog after a week and a half.  I didn't need pain pills very much.  Now get ready for a bunch of pictures.  I will be posting them in a couple different posts over the next few days as I have the energy to upload them.  And also stay tuned for Havoc's reaction.  He is quite the dog.



My Doctor Depresses Me

I used to look forward to my doctor appointments.  It was neat to see how the baby was progressing, to get a clean bill of health and to get my Kara chocolates.  I liked them up until yesterday.  My due date is next week, one week exactly from yesterday.  I was talking with Ross about the things I am excited for after the baby is born:  I can wear my chacos, I can roll over in bed without a lot pain, I can feel the skin on my stomach again, I can walk without a lot of pain, I can get a little break from work.  I am excited to see what my little guy looks like but the physical sometimes outweighs that part.  I was in a good mood going in to my appointment, the baby's heart rate was good and the nurses were doing a dilation dance for me to help me start in the dilating process to get the show in the road.  Then the doctor came in and burst my good mood.  Yeah, the baby is healthy so far and he is looking good.  Then he added another pound to what he is predicting the baby will weigh, now he is guessing he will be a 10 pounder.  I could handle that.  I mean, other's have had bigger babies and they are still alive and walking.  Then he dropped a bigger bomb.  He told me that I am not dilated at all, which is a little bummer, but then he told me the baby hasn't even dropped yet.  I didn't think too much about it until he explained that the baby should have dropped a week or two ago so this is a cause for a little concern.  The baby is actually sitting much higher than he should.  Then he grabbed the baby's head through my stomach and was moving it to show how high he was and that he was still not engaged.  He went on to explain that at this rate there is a good possibility that I will be pregnant another two weeks, at the least, and that if he doesn't drop then we will have to do a c-section.  This is one of the last things I have wanted.  I have heard how painful they can be and how they can take a while to heal, etc, etc.  I do trust my doctor but am still not interested in a c-section.  So we are praying that he will drop and make his appearance on his own.  Also, the longer we wait for him to drop the bigger he will get causing a c-section inevitable. 

On the flip side, I guess it gives us more time to get everything really ready for him to get here.  More time to be care free and not have the extra responsibility.

All About Time

The time is getting closer and closer for this baby to be born.  I have a bit of anticipation mingled with . . . its not fear or regret, I'm not sure what the other feeling is.  I want to meet this little guy that has been throwing my body out of whack for the last 9 months but then wonder if I am really ready for this.  Its a big change in life for our little family and a lifetime commitment.  As the time gets closer I have been feeling the pressure to get the baby's room ready and to tie up loose ends, finish some projects that have been needing to be finished and just keep up with daily life.  Its much more difficult when you have no energy.

I am not down to weekly doctors appointments.  At this weeks appointment my doctor added another pound to his estimate on how big the baby will be at birth.  I am not really too concerned about the size of the baby, one way or another he will come out of me.  He also told me that with my age and the fact that this is my first baby there is a 90% chance that he will be late, and he made it sound like it was possibly a week or more late.  I am not sure how I feel about this.  I have some very mixed emotions.  On one hand I am very ready to be done, I want to be able to move without the pain.  On the other hand, the longer he waits the more time I have to get enjoy the summer and swim and not be a parent yet.  I do try to cherish all the movements and kicks but as they are getting harder its less enjoyable for me.  But at least I know he is alive and active and should be healthy. 

I have had many friends on facebook have babies in the last week.  I made a comment on facebook that I am starting to get jealous of all those that get to have their babies recently and a friend's response made me think:  "be grateful that he is still in there. I would not wish my experience on anyone. my twins were born at 28 weeks and leaving them at the hospital is really hard. just hang in there, let him take the time to grow and develop and take time for yourself now while you still have it. love ya and good luck."  I have been very blessed that other than a few problems at the beginning of my pregnancy everything has gone pretty smoothly and there really haven't been much in the way of complications.  I am going to try to just enjoy the last couple weeks of freedom of not being a parent and hope and pray that any memory of the pain and discomfort I've had in the last couple of months goes away when I get to meet this little guy.

Check It Out!

I have always wanted to fly fish but it always looked too tricky and very complicated.  After moving into our house we had a street Christmas party and we got to meet most of our neighbors at one place.  One neighbor grabbed Ross and asked if he was into fishing, to which Ross laughed a little.  The neighbor was offering to teach him to fly fish and before Ross could say anything else I jumped in and exclaimed that I have always wanted to learn and that I bet Ross would find it fun.  A year and a half later, due to my procrastination, we have been taking lessons.  Ross was a natural but still had no desire for fishing.  I on the other hand had a desire but no natural talent.  I have been working at my false casting and it is getting better, and thank heavens my neighbor is very patient with us.  Turns out he really likes to teach people to fish. 

A couple weeks ago we went to a little fishing pond in Pleasant Grove and was going to work on our casting while trying to actually catch a fish.  My casting wasn't very good so I was very skeptical that I would catch anything.  As the morning went on my casting got better and my hopes for catching some of the big fish I saw those around me pulling out got greater.  It happened all at once, I did my false casting and then laid my line down in the water, waited a couple seconds before starting to bring the line in and make my fly tantalizing.  I looked away to talk to someone and then WHAM!  I caught my first fish fly fishing, and I am pretty darn proud of that fish.

Pregnancy 101

I think there is a huge learning curve with your first pregnancy.  Everything is new and everyone has an opinion or has read something that they will share with you as doctrine.  I learned to take advice with a grain of salt and to not necessarily believe everything I am told.  I do ask my doctor about some of them to see if they are true and he is bluntly honest with me, which is a very good thing.  I have had questions about everything from travel to swelling to weight gain to what can and can't be done while pregnant.  What I have learned from him is that if I want to do something I can do it and may as well.  He told me I could even go to Disneyland and ride all the rides, 8 months pregnant, and nothing will happen to the baby.  I was pretty shocked to hear this, but I guess God knew what He was doing when he designed the woman's body.   There are also many many other things I have learned, that a doctor wouldn't be able to educate me about, that I want to share with you today.

First - Everyone likes to ask when the baby is due, which is natural, but I am a little more surprised at how many people ask if we have a name yet for the baby.  Maybe its just me, but that's not something I ask and its not something I thought a lot of people would ask, especially at church.  I think 80% of the people I have talked to have asked if we have a name yet, some of them ask me every month if we have one yet.  I tell them we are waiting to see what he looks like before we name him, and yet, the next month they ask again if we have a name yet.

2 - When people ask about my due date close to 98% of them give me one of the following reactions:
      "Oh goodness, you will be so miserable."
      "I am so sorry for you, it will be so hot."
       (grimacing) "I sure hope you have air conditioning."
Or something very close to this.  I have found it quite humorous and like to predict people's reactions.  Plus, all the extra sympathy is pretty nice too.

3 - Everyone, and when I say everyone I mean EVERYONE, likes to share their horror stories.  I have gotten stories from both women and men, although men don't fully understand but like to relate their wife's horror stories.  And there are some pretty sad things and some pretty gross things that can happen.  I am more than ok with this and it reminds me of how lucky I am so far that this is a pretty normal pregnancy.  I am sure one day I will share my own version of these stories.

4 -  I did learn that when others are sharing their horror stories about pregnancy I have to sit quietly and nod politely.  I am not to join in and share what I have been going through and what I had to deal with so far in my pregnancy because that is complaining.  When others are sharing their woes they had with swelling and other aches and pains I can not add to the conversation with my swelling and aches and pains I have had so far.  I was not aware that this is complaining and whining.  I guess there is a waiting period after the baby is born before I can share my stories?  Maybe someone can let me know when its appropriate for me to be able to share my woes so I don't come off as a complainer.

5 - I had a day when I was called tubby, a planet, particularly the moon, and was told that I wasn't allowed on someones boat cause I would sink it.  Granted I have a pretty thick skin, thanks to my siblings, and it didn't really affect me, though I used pregnancy hormones as a threat.  I am sure there were some others in there too.  Then one of the sweetest little 3 year olds ever came up to me and said "I like your clothes".  Just the way she said it (you probably had to be there), such a sweetie, really made my day and all the less than kind comments from before just melted away.  All it takes is a sweet, sincere little girl to brighten your day. (Its ok, I still kind of like those of you that made the less than nice comments :)

6 - I have noticed that most of the maternity shirts are low cut.  I am not sure if this is to keep the pregnant lady more cool in the hot temps or if its to show off the newer bigger cleavage.  Whatever the reason its becoming a pain.  When I got to the point that I had to wear maternity clothes it wasn't a big deal, the neck of the shirts sat a little higher on my chest.  However, as my stomach has grown the neck line has slowly crept farther and farther down my chest.  Previously I was delusional and thought that maternity shirts would cover you appropriately for the full 9 months, that's what they were made for.  Boy was I wrong.  I am at a point with a majority of my shirts where I have to make a choice.  I guess its a simple choice cause there are two options:  Do I cover my stomach or do I cover my chest?  I can pull my shirt down to cover my stomach which in turn pulls it farther down my chest.  I try to pull it up over my chest but it reveals more of my stomach.  Its a never ending tug-of-war.

7 -   This is the most amazing tool ever.  When we were cleaning out my grandma's house Ross came across it and was playing with it so much that my grandma gave it to him.  I teased him a little bit about it and it got tucked away in Ross room, forgotten about.  A couple weeks ago I was trying to pick some things up off the floor and it wasn't very easy or comfortable.  I then remembered this fun little gadget downstairs and ran, or moved as fast as I could, to get it.  It has really been a life saver the last little while and I think its something that every pregnant woman should have.

It works well at picking rocks out of my garden and I need to test it and see how well it does with weeding.

8 -  I have learned there are two types of people out there:  those that are willing to help a pregnant lady pick stuff up and those who like to sit and watch the lady with the big belly struggle.  I don't like to feel or look helpless but when it comes to bending over and picking things up it sometimes hurts.  It feel like the baby is being shoved up into my rib cage and into all my internal organs, that and if I get down I may not get back up.  I am usually really lucky that someone willing to help me is there when I need it.  There have been a few times when I have struggled to pick up something and noticed some people very obviously watching my struggle or after I picked up what I needed people have said they were going to help but wanted to watch me struggle.

Reality Hits

Now, before I start this I want to point out that

At my last doctors appointment it hit me that I am really having a baby.  Yes, I know I am pregnant.  I look pregnant and I feel pregnant and with how much this baby moves these days there is no way I could be misdiagnosed, unless I have a very large and active tape worm in my abdomen.  At the last appointment Ross was asking about the labor and deliver and stirrups and why they hold the legs and it really got me to thinking, one day this baby is going to have to come out of me one way or another.  That has always been there in the back of my mind, but not something I really thought about or considered.  I think thats due to the fact that it has seemed to be a long 7 months and with only 10 weeks or about 2 months left time now seems to be speeding up.  And with the busy summer ahead of us I fear it will only go faster.  (I tried to keep it a relaxed summer but things kept getting planned and then all the stuff that has to be done before the baby gets here)  I feel like I am on the boat in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that goes faster and faster down the river of chocolate. (Some of it could also be due the little bit of caffeine I have had today.)  Now, I know the logistics of how a baby is born and how that whole thing works, but I am not sure I am up for that or want to be up for that.  I was talking to a lady at church yesterday and she was telling me how fast the last bit will come and its too late for buyers remorse.  I am excited to have the baby, and not be pregnant any more, but then I think about how the baby will come out and all that involves and I think I can wait a little bit.

On a brighter side its becoming more and more fun to feel the baby move, for the most part.  He is very active when I am at work or laying on my side and I can now kind of push him around.  He likes to stick something hard out and I can push on it and feel him move and poke out the other side of my stomach.  Its kind of like playing Whack a Mole.  One thing I will not miss is using a toilette stall.  The ones at church are the worst because they are so small and with my stomach I have to straddle the toilette to be able to close and open the stall door.  The ones at work are longer but a little narrow so I have to back up like a Mack truck.  I always have the beeping going on in my head as I am attempting to get into place so I can sit and not miss the seat.  I have realized so many joys of being pregnant.